What Comes Next
by TwoHeartedAlien
Summary: Several months on from the story "Riven's Guilt, Irelia's Forgiveness", Riven is trying to settle into living in Ionia with Irelia and working in the Ionian military.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

"Get up." Riven groaned as she felt Irelia pull the bed covers off her.

"You might not need sleep but I do." Riven quipped back at the Ionian who loomed over her with a raised eyebrow waiting for Riven to finally get out of bed.

"You'll be late if I don't make you get out of bed now." Riven rolled back over on the bed in protest which was met with Irelia's hand grabbing her right ankle, tugging her off the bed.

"Alright, alright." She conceded as Irelia tossed her commanders uniform at her, urging her to get dressed. Riven stood up from where she had been pulled onto the floor, forcing herself to get changed into the uniform Irelia had thrown at her before she headed downstairs for some food before she left.

Riven had been training Ionian soldiers for several months now, five days a week she would train soldiers who were anything from brand new inductees to experienced commanders on how to fight Noxians and what their tactics were. Training Ionian soldiers was a strange experience for Riven due to the mentality in the military being so different; the only similarity was a sense of patriotism and love for their homeland. The Noxian military focused on the strength of particular individuals where Ionia focused on the collective, working with each other. It was a quality that Riven was beginning to understand and appreciate but it was taking time.

She spent the day having the current group of soldiers she was training running through drills. Riven had noticed early on after taking this position that many of the Ionian soldiers lacked training in close quarter combat, being allowed to rely heavily on weapons or abilities that they may have. She knew that many of the soldiers that came through her training hated the intensity of Riven's instructions, forcing them to train at a level they had never done before. What Riven hadn't realised before taking this position would be how frustrating it would be to teach others. She had lead others before, she used to be a commander, but she lead people who had received the exact same training as her and lived with the same cultural values of individual strength and hard work even to a fault.

"Alright, stop there. I'll see you all tomorrow." She said, ending the training early for the day. Some of them just weren't getting it, it wasn't just frustrating her but it was frustrating them as well. She needed to come back with another approach.

When Riven returned home for the evening, she found Irelia sitting at the dining table with paper work spread out all in front of her. She watched the Ionian work away as she removed her rune sword and the few pieces of armour she ever wore.

"How was it?" Irelia asked without lifting her gaze from the papers in front of her. Riven responded with a frustrated grunt as she walked into the kitchen, looking for something to drink. "That bad?"

"They're just not getting it. I don't know what's wrong with this group."

"You say that about every group of soldiers you train, love. It always works out in the end."

"I know, I know." Riven said as she emerged from the kitchen, a cup of water in hand. "It's just tough, everything here is so different." Irelia gave her an affectionate but empathetic smile before rising from the table and moving to her, running her fingers up and down Riven's bicep in a comforting manner.

"I know it's hard. Ionia is far from being anything like Noxus but it'll get better, I promise."

"Tell me why I agreed to do this job again?" Riven asked playfully, a slight smile playing on her lips. Irelia had always been good at improving her mood.

"I don't know, something about loving me I think is what you said." Irelia replied before pressing her lips to Riven's cheek.

"Oh yeah, that."

"Come sit with me while I finish off my work then I'll make some dinner." Riven nodded before following Irelia back to the dining table, taking a seat next to her. She squinted at the papers in front of her, Irelia had spent the last several months teaching Riven to read not just in the common tongue but also in Ionian and her skill had greatly improved but she still struggled with larger words of which the reports in front of them contained many. Riven rested her head against the table, letting out an exasperated sigh as Irelia carded her fingers gently through Riven's hair. "It'll get better, love. I promise."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Riven leaned against the wall, arms crossed against her chest as she watched the group of soldiers in front of her sparring in pairs. She sighed audibly as she watched them; they were going easy on each other, not taking the opportunity to get the most out of the training she was giving them.

"I need you guys to take this seriously, actually attack each other. You won't learn anything by just pretending to fight with each other. You need to be ready if Noxus comes back." The men in front of her gave her mixed reactions, some of them showing contempt. It wasn't a secret that they, and many others, weren't pleased with her presence in Ionia still even if she was trying to help.

Riven jumped slightly at the hand that ran down her bicep, turning to the person who touched her. Irelia smirked at her, claiming her victory in having managed to surprise her. The Captain leaned up on the wall against her before moving her face closer to Riven.

"I want you to come home as early as you can tonight, I have something planned." Riven swallowed at the sound of Irelia's bedroom voice being used. "Oh, and I want you to pick some things up on the way home if you can." Irelia gave her a devious smile, pressing a piece of paper into her hand before turning to leave. When Riven managed to gather her thoughts again she opened the folded piece of paper in her hand, it was a list of a few groceries that Irelia wanted from the markets near their home. It was strange to call it their home but Irelia insisted that she do it.

When Riven wrapped up the training for the day, she made her way quickly back to the markets nearby their home. As she read through the list of food to buy, she was grateful for Irelia choosing not to use her normal cursive writing, she wouldn't be able to read it otherwise.

Riven tried to keep the interactions she had with some of the vendors as short as possible, partly because some of them hated serving a Noxian but would serve her anyway because of her being with Irelia and partly because some of them really liked talking to her and will hold her up with small talk. Her conversational Ionian had improved greatly since they had returned to live in Ionia together; she had even tested Riven at times by refusing to respond to her unless she spoke in Ionian, when trying to purchase things at the market she was grateful for it.

When she had the groceries Irelia had asked her to get, she began making her quick return home, both excitement and fear bristling within her. Normally she enjoyed being surprised by Irelia but the idea of Irelia having planned something for them excited her just as much. She fumbled with her keys while trying to open the door to their home. Once she was able to get the door open, she removed her pieces of armour and put her rune sword on the rack that Irelia had gotten installed months ago. She quickly put the groceries away before calling out to Irelia, trying to see where she was.

"Come upstairs, love." Riven swallowed hard in anticipation before heading up the stairs, skipping two steps at a time. She pushed the door to their bedroom open, finding Irelia standing by the end of the bed with her chest of play equipment already open. "Eager, are we?" She asked, the corners of her mouth twisting into a smirk at the sight of Riven's quick entrance. Riven ran her eyes up and down the Captain who was standing in nothing but her black lingerie, she had worn Riven's favourite. Riven moved towards her only to be met with a riding crop to the chest, creating space between them.

"Take your clothes off." Riven didn't hesitate to obey the instructions, quickly removing her boots and clothes, tossing them aside. She then stood in front of Irelia, stark naked, waiting for further instruction. "Now, where do you belong?" Riven shuddered at Irelia's tone, bringing herself down to her knees in front of the Captain.

"At your feet, ma'am."

"Very good." Riven watched quietly as Irelia reached into the chest, pulling out leather wrist cuffs. "Wrists out." Riven quickly obeyed, letting Irelia encase her wrists in leather, not yet attached to anything. Riven's breathing quickened as Irelia captured her jaw between her thumb and index finger, tilting her head up to look at her. "Now, love, would you prefer I hit you with the riding crop or the switch tonight?" Riven swallowed, clenching her eyes shut; Irelia had such skill in being able to make her squirm under her touch.

"Whatever… Whatever will please you, ma'am." Riven forced her eyes back open, making eye contact with Irelia, briefly catching sight of the victorious smirk on the Ionian's face.

"I've trained you well." She rewarded Riven with an intense, searing kiss. "Get up on the bed, on your back." She said before releasing Riven's jaw from her grip. Riven scrambled to get up on the bed, trying to obey as quickly as possible.

She watched as Irelia grabbed two straps of leather from the chest, walking up to the head of the bed where Riven laid waiting. She quickly tied Riven's wrists up to the head of the bed before returning to the chest, searching through it as Riven waited quietly. Irelia returned to the bed, climbing up onto it and kneeling between Riven's legs, the riding crop having been replaced with the wooden switch from the chest. Riven let out a groan, of course she had chosen that one, it hurt a lot more than the riding crop.

"Are you ready to take what I deal out, love?" Riven nodded, biting her lower lip in anticipation. Riven shuddered as Irelia pressed the wooden rod against her thigh gently before bringing it back in a hard strike causing Riven to cry out, pulling against the restraints. "Lay still." She said coldly as she continued to strike Riven's inner thighs, alternating between each strike.

Riven cried out with each strike, trying her best to remain still. Irelia looked down on her, a satisfied smirk on her face that caused Riven to clench her eyes shut. In response to Riven closing her eyes, Irelia struck her left thigh even harder than normal, forcing her to jerk forward and open her eyes. She lost count of how many times Irelia used the switch on her thighs, by the end of it she was panting hard, limp against her restraints.

"You've been so good for me so far." Irelia said, running her index finger along the red welts on Riven's right thigh causing her to flinch. "I think I'll reward you by letting you put your mouth on me." Irelia reached up, untying Riven's wrists from the headboard before reaching behind her own back and undoing her bra. "Kneel on the floor." Riven forced herself off the bed and onto her knees at the side of the bed. Irelia's bra and panties had been removed, flung to some irrelevant corner of the room. Irelia sat up on the edge of the bed in front of Riven.

"Only use your mouth, I want you to work for any further reward." Riven nodded before moving her face between the Captain's legs, quick to move her tongue against Irelia's clit. Irelia's hands were in Riven's hair, pulling her closer as she drew circles with her tongue. Riven moved her hands up, gripping onto Irelia's thighs. Irelia's moans only spurred Riven on, wanting to please her master and earn her own reward.

Irelia's breathing became ragged under Riven's touch, her composure and complete control over Riven beginning to fray at the edges. She dug her fingernails into Irelia's thighs, adding to all the stimulation she was giving her Captain. Irelia's grip in her hair tightened, she was far from afraid of being too rough with Riven, knowing the Noxian could take whatever she handed out.

"Fuck." Irelia said under her breath as she clamped her thighs tightly around Riven's head, coming hard. Riven continued until she was sure Irelia was spent before pulling away, smiling up at the Ionian with satisfaction. The muscles in her jaw were tired from the desperate and enthusiastic effort made but Riven was pleased with herself and she hoped Irelia was pleased too.

Riven waited patiently as Irelia regained her composure, regained control over the situation. Riven knew the Captain got off on being in control far more than anything physically done to her. Irelia smiled down at her, leaning to where Riven knelt on the floor before her and kissed the Noxian with deep affection before returning to her usual demeanour of coldness.

"Get back up on the bed, on your hands and knees, facing the head of the bed." She said before standing up. Riven moved from her knees to climb back onto the bed, kneeling in front of the headboard as she had been told. Irelia tied her wrists back up to the headboard of the bed before circling the bed in a shark like manner, deciding what she would do next. Riven pressed her face into the sheets, attempting to hide herself from Irelia's inspection.

When Riven doesn't hear any movement from the Ionian, she lifts her face up from the sheets, attempting to look for her. Irelia had moved up onto the bed, kneeling behind her without her noticing. Irelia reached her right hand around the outside of Riven's right hip before reaching back down, her fingers making contact with Riven's clit. The sudden stimulation made Riven jerk slightly, letting out a quiet, stifled moan. Irelia used her free hand to introduce two fingers to Riven's entrance, making aggressive, rhythmic thrusts into her.

"Fuck." Riven cried out, moaning loudly under Irelia's aggressive touch. She struggled against the restraints, not being able to stay still under Irelia's scrutiny.

"Don't come until I tell you to, love." Riven's breathing quickened, she was already so close to coming under Irelia's touch. She both loved and hated how the Captain could do this to her, how Irelia could render her so useless.

"God, fuck." She cried out, earning a dark and possessive chuckle from Irelia behind her. "Please… please may I…" Riven couldn't continue her sentence as she redirected her focus on keeping herself from coming, trying to follow Irelia's instructions.

"Come for me now." It wasn't long after that that Riven came hard, crying out loudly before falling uselessly slack against the restraints. Irelia moved quickly to untie her wrists, removing the leather cuffs and massaging feeling back into her hands that Riven hadn't realised she'd lost. The Captain placed gentle kisses along her spine. "You were so good for me. Lie down on your side." Riven managed somehow to follow her instruction, allowing Irelia to lie beside her, spooning Riven.

Irelia gently carded her fingers through Riven's hair, comforting her, and showered her with kisses on her cheek and temple.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Riven forced herself out of bed, she had to get up even earlier than normal for an appointment she had with Soraka. Irelia had forced her to set one with the Starchild due to her nightmares; she still couldn't sleep almost a year on from nearly dying to Singed's chemical weapons. Irelia tried her best to comfort her, even lying with her in bed at night even though the Ionian didn't need to sleep in hopes to keep her from having nightmares, it was a strategy that got mixed results. In the last few weeks, the lack of sleep had been hitting Riven particularly hard; it was hard to deal with people hating her for being Noxian when so tired.

Even with being so exhausted, Riven managed to get herself dressed and stumble her way through the Placidium half asleep to see Soraka. The Starchild gave her a warm smile as she made her way into the clinic, gesturing for Riven to follow her into her office.

"I'm sorry for making you come in so early, I just don't have any time to see you after your training."

"It's okay."

"You look exhausted, how are you doing?" Riven slumped herself down into the chair across from Soraka, she could feel the concern radiating off of Soraka.

"I'm exhausted, not sleeping and when I am sleeping I'm having nightmares, as always."

"Maybe it's time to consider the talk therapy I was telling you about. It works well for those with Post-Traumatic Str-" Riven cut her off before she could continue.

"We've already talked about that; can't you just give me something to help me sleep already? That's all I want, I just want to be able to sleep enough to function each day."

"You know I've already told you no, Riven. I wouldn't give you something like that without you at the very least agreeing to talk therapy. I wouldn't want you to become reliant on sleeping aids." Soraka watched Riven's expression closely, "Look, Irelia's really worried about your nightmares and the lack of sleep, I think it's time to really consider talking to someone, even if it's her." Riven shrugged slightly before standing up.

"Thanks anyway." Riven left Soraka's office before she could stop her. Riven slowly made her way through the Placidium to the training grounds where she would meet the soldiers she was training. She would be a bit earlier than expected but it was better than being nagged by Soraka to talk about her feelings. As she was about to turn around the corner before the training grounds, she could hear the more high ranking soldiers speaking about her in Ionian, causing her to pause.

"I can't believe Elder Karma and Captain Lito continue to protect her and hide her here in the Placidium. There's no way someone like Commander Riven should be allowed to live here let alone train soldiers, how can she be trusted not to turn on us when we need her?"

"I already spoke to a few of the Elders about her; they're looking for ways to have her removed. She doesn't even speak Ionian, forcing us to use the common tongue with her."

"I don't understand what Captain Lito was thinking, getting Commander Riven to train us, a Noxian serving in the Ionian military." Riven had decided she had heard enough, anger blistering inside her. She turned around the corner, putting on her best fake smile, they had no clue she could understand them.

"Let's start, shall we?" She asked them, doing her best to pretend she wasn't in a foul mood from not only hearing what she had heard but with waking up early for a pointless meeting with Soraka.

After yet another frustrating training session, Riven left in the early evening, making her way back home. She wasn't sure if it was just the events of the day that had set her on edge but Riven felt as if she were receiving even more dirty looks from citizens as she passed, recognising her for being a foreigner and a Noxian. By the time she had returned home, Riven was in an incredibly foul mood, a mood in such stark contrast with her excitement to return home the day prior. Riven dumped her armour and rune sword at the door loudly, taking her frustration out on her belongings, loudly enough that Irelia stepped out of the kitchen with her eyebrow raised.

"Bad day?" She asked Riven, already knowing the answer, moving across the living room to make an attempt to comfort the Noxian.

"I don't know why you bother." Riven snapped causing Irelia to stop a few steps before her.

"Bother with what?"

"I don't know why you and Karma bother protecting me, no one wants me here. You should have just sent me away after you helped me heal. Better yet, you should have just left me where you found me in that forest."

"What's brought this on?" Irelia made a slow move to run her hand up Riven's arm, being careful not to startle or anger the Noxian.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You don't get to snap at me and then not tell me why, love." Riven pulled her arm out of Irelia's grasp, heading for the stairs. "Alright, come back later when you're in a better mood." The Captain said before heading back into the kitchen, letting Riven head upstairs. Riven laid down on their bed upstairs, curled into a ball, letting herself seethe alone.

A few hours later when Riven had the chance to calm down, she made her way downstairs, finding Irelia sitting on the couch with a book in hand. Irelia looked over her shoulder at Riven after hearing her footsteps, she watched the Noxian, letting Riven begin the conversation.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you. I was in a bad mood and it wasn't your fault." Irelia smiled slightly, placing her book down on the coffee table before tapping the spot beside her on the couch, asking for Riven to come sit beside her. Riven took the spot beside Irelia, resting her head on the Ionian's shoulder.

"Now, tell me what made you so angry." Irelia said as she snaked her arm around Riven's shoulder and into her hair, playing with it.

"I just don't belong here. No one wants me here. I overheard a bunch of the higher ranking soldiers I've been training talking about how they don't understand why I'm still here, wanting me to be removed from my position. It seems to be a pretty common belief. Many of the vendors at the market still refuse to serve me or will serve me but would rather not." Irelia pressed her lips to Riven's hair line.

"I want you here. That's why I keep protecting you; I don't care what they think. Karma trusts my judgement and so she protects you too. I will keep telling you that as often as I need to for it to be enough. Now, how did your appointment with Soraka go?" Riven let out an audible sigh, she knew that Soraka had probably already spoken to Irelia to voice her concerns.

"She wouldn't give me anything to help me sleep. She still won't unless I talk to someone."

"I think talking to someone would be a good idea; you still won't tell me anything, love." Riven just grunted slightly as her response, she hated the feeling of being vulnerable even in front of Irelia after all this time. "I won't make you talk to me, but I want you to know that you can. I love you." She said with a smile before kissing Riven deeply.

A/N: Wow look at that, triple posting on the same fic. Please leave reviews or send me PMs to let me know what you guys think so far. I really like to hear your feedback especially because it seemed a lot of you wanted this sequel/continuation, I want to make sure everyone likes it.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Riven hadn't really ever taken the opportunity to look around the Placidium since she settled into living with Irelia here despite the Captain's best efforts to suggest that Riven should have a look around and get to know the place better. Riven preferred to stay away from most people here in the Placidium, many had lost relatives who lived outside the Placidium and even a few lots family and friends in the attack on the Placidium by Noxus several months earlier and the sight of Riven was enough to turn the mood sour even if she did help bring the Noxian campaign to an end.

Normally Riven would only leave the safety of their home when she had to but today was an exception. For months she had the feeling that she was being followed but she let whoever it was continue without challenge because there was nothing to see. All Riven did was leave home, go to her training sessions and return home in the evening however today was different, the months of being treated with a continued cold shoulder at best and open aggression at worst by strangers had gotten to her and she knew it was time to draw her stalker out of the shadows to confront them.

Riven used her day off to leave before sunrise to travel to the gardens, Irelia had asked her where she was going but Riven kept her plans a secret from her at least for now. She took her stalker on an elaborate path through the gardens, using the confusion to catch the follower off guard, grasping the man by his throat. She removed his hood, hoping to find someone she recognised but all she found was a boy even younger than herself which explained his inability to keep her unaware of his watching.

"Is it the Deceiver that you work for?" The boy quivered in her grip, obviously having gotten complacent in the months he followed her without confrontation. "Answer me." She demanded, pressing him up against the tree.

"Y-Yes." The boy stammered, he looked as if he were about to piss his pants, Noxus was scraping the barrel for new recruits. Riven fished her hand into her back pocket, pulling out a letter and putting it in the boys hand.

"Take this to her, don't open it and don't let anyone other than LeBlanc read it and make sure she has you return with her response and no one else." The boy nodded his head as much as he could in Riven's death grip before she let him go. She figured, as she watched the boy run away, that LeBlanc had purposefully picked the most useless person for this mission so she would know that LeBlanc was watching and waiting for an answer to her offer. Riven returned home as quickly as she had arrived in the gardens.

"That was quick. Did you even look at anything when you were there?" The Captain called out when she heard the front door close, emerging from the living room.

"I said I would give it a go, I didn't say I would enjoy it or stay for a while." Irelia laughed slightly in response.

"One of these days I'll take you to something cultured and get you to at least try it." Before Riven could interject to say she had tried the gardens, Irelia continued. "Properly try it."

Riven continued her regular routine of waking up, training and returning home in the evening for the next few weeks before the boy returned. He showed up one night on her way home from training, catching her in an alleyway without any witnesses as LeBlanc most likely asked him to do. He handed Riven a letter before scurrying off, not wanting a repeat of last time with Riven's strong hands around his throat.

It took a few attempts for Riven to be able to be sure of what LeBlanc had written in the letter, the woman wrote in cursive which she still had significant trouble reading but eventually she understood that the Deceiver was asking her to make a trip to the Institute in order for them to speak in person, that letters were far too dangerous for such a matter. Riven wondered how she would spin this to Irelia, asking for an earlier than planned return to the institute without telling her the actual reason why. She knew if she told the Captain, Irelia would refuse to let her go because of who LeBlanc is.

Riven folded the letter into her back pocket while she made the rest of her trip home, attempting to come up with a good enough reason to drop everything and return to the Institute and do it alone.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Riven unlocked the front door and entered their home, expecting Irelia to hear her enter and greet her, only to find an empty house. The Captain must be still stuck in her office, most likely still dealing with some sort of emergency Riven didn't know about. She headed upstairs, entering their bedroom and grabbing the back she had used months earlier when she fled the Placidium and began stuffing it with clothes and other necessities. While preoccupied with packing her things and trying to make it all fit, Riven had failed to notice Irelia's return home and her presence in the doorway of the bedroom.

"Are you leaving me again?" Irelia said with a sombre tone, obviously referring to months prior when Riven left the Placidium without so much as a warning. The Captain clearly thought Riven was attempting to leave again without saying a word which made sense with how frustrated the Noxian had been recently, seemingly unhappy in Ionia.

"No, not like that. I'm going back to the Institute for a few days; I'll be back in about a week. I was going to tell you as soon as I got home but you weren't here so I just started packing." Irelia's expression changed, improving at the knowledge that Riven wasn't planning to leave her alone without saying goodbye.

"Why? Who needs you to go back?"

"Luxanna sent me a letter," Riven started as she looked away, continuing to pack her bag as an excuse to not make eye contact as she lied, "She needs me to help her, to do her a favour, she wouldn't say what it was through letters though so I'm not sure what it's about." Irelia pursed her lips as Riven's eyes found hers again.

"What do you want me to do with your soldiers while you're gone?" Riven pulled the straps of her bag closed and turned to Irelia.

"Just put them on a break for a week, I'm sure they'd be glad to have a break from me anyway."

"Are you leaving now? It's dark out; you should at least wait until morning."

"It seems urgent." Riven picked up the bag and slung it over her shoulder, crossing the room to the Captain.

"Let me know if anything changes, okay?" Riven nodded, ducking in for a kiss goodbye before heading down the stairs. "I love you." Irelia called out after her causing Riven to feel a pang of guilt.

"Love you too." She called back before grabbing her shattered rune sword and heading out the front door.

Riven walked through the night and into the afternoon of the next day, choosing not to stop anywhere on her trip to the Institute. She preferred to stay unnoticed on her trip, choosing to take backroads over the normal routes even if they were better maintained. Riven wondered about what she should expect from this meeting with LeBlanc, the woman was known as the Deceiver for a reason, she could be travelling all this way for nothing. But the opportunity to possibly change Noxus and be able to return home was something too good to pass up even at the risk of this being a trap.

As much as Irelia tried to make Ionia Riven's home, it wasn't the same. Irelia had taken the time to get Riven a position in the military which was all Riven had known, even had taught her how to speak and read Ionian to make the transition easier but it made little difference when Riven stuck out like a sore thumb. She was very clearly a foreigner and while she did speak the language, it was poorly at best.

Riven felt guilty about the entire situation, not just about lying to Irelia, but her want to leave Ionia and return home as well. Irelia had made all these efforts to make her stay comfortable and she still wanted to leave. She wasn't sure what would come next, assuming LeBlanc was being honest and the plan they come up with ends up working, what would that mean for their relationship? She couldn't ask Irelia to move to Noxus.

Riven's thoughts were interrupted by LeBlanc appearing in front of her. She had arrived at the outer walls of the Institute and LeBlanc had come to bring her inside without being noticed Riven assumed.

"How'd you know I was here?" Riven asked, earning a slight smirk from the Deceiver.

"I had someone follow you, of course." Riven quirked her eyebrow at that.

"Someone far better than that boy you had follow me for months, clearly."

"I had to get an amateur to follow you in Ionia, how else would you have figured out how to contact me? Now, follow me." She said, gesturing to a passage way she had created on the outside of the wall.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Riven followed LeBlanc through the passageways that the woman had created until they ended up in the Ionian wing in front of the door to Irelia's quarters. The Institute had offered to give Riven her own quarters after she joined almost a year ago but she never took them up on it, she very rarely returned and if she did it was almost always with Irelia so she only stayed in the Captain's quarters. Irelia had given her a copy of the key to the room so she could come and go as she pleased.

LeBlanc waited in silence as Riven quickly unlocked the door and entered with the Deceiver following quickly to avoid being noticed in the Ionian wing, somewhere she clearly didn't belong. Riven locked the door and turned to LeBlanc, waiting for the woman to speak.

"So you have considered my offer?"

"I've come to find out more. Firstly, why?"

"Why what?" LeBlanc asked coyly.

"Why would you want to over throw Swain? Last time I checked you were his right hand and you never really cared for politics. So why the change?" Riven asked, narrowing her eyes at the woman in front of her. LeBlanc examined Riven's face for a moment before replying.

"Swain has become paranoid, he's limiting the function of the Black Rose. He chooses to make alliances with nations like Zaun and is willing to sacrifice our own men for his own goals. He continues to pursue conflict with Ionia which is a nation we quickly found out isn't as willing to lay down and die as we had previously thought. Why would I continue to support a man who can't even stay out of my way?" Riven worried her lip between her teeth, considering her reply. She was trying to see how LeBlanc was laying a trap for her but everything suggested the opposite, the woman was even taking the risk of being seen with Riven in the Ionian wing which if Swain was half as paranoid as LeBlanc was claiming, it would be enough for him to take her head.

"What is your plan then?"

"My sympathisers and I will assist you in replacing Swain." The Deceiver said bluntly, Riven blinked, wondering if she had heard that right.

"You wish to replace Swain with me?" LeBlanc smirked slightly.

"Yes, that is the plan. I wouldn't ask you to join in on a plan for you to just watch it unfold."

"But why me? I was just a commander before I left. There's no good reason why you would want me to replace Swain."

"You showed more potential as commander than you believe. There was a reason why Swain let you into far more than he should have. They were seeking to make you far more than just a commander. Besides, I need someone who will stay out of my way. There aren't many that would do that." Riven stared at LeBlanc for a few moments, saying nothing as she processed the information.

"You just want a pawn. Someone to stay out of your way while you do as you like."

"Of course." LeBlanc said with a look in her eye that Riven couldn't quite pin down, "Everything comes with a price and that is mine. The Black Rose will give you everything you need to take the position as Grand General and we'll support you when you are Grand General as long as you stay out of our way."

"So if I get in your way, you'll remove me?" Riven scrunched up her face at the idea, she wasn't sure if the risk was worth it.

"Something like that."

"So then how could I trust you?"

"Outsmart me then. Make it a challenge." The Deceiver said with a laugh. "Besides, what makes you think it's easy to trust you, Exile, when you willingly gave up Noxus' classified information in a heartbeat to your dead girlfriend?"

Riven pursed her lips, folding her arms across her chest. The offer was tempting for sure, and even with her reputation, the woman's honesty made Riven inclined to trust her. All she would have to do to avoid the Deceiver taking her down as well was to either stay out of her way or 'outsmart' her as LeBlanc had said.

"I'll accept on one condition."

"Which is?" LeBlanc queried, running her eyes over Riven.

"I want to meet the others who want to help first before I agree. I want to know what I'm getting into before we move forward. I also need time to think about it all." LeBlanc locked eyes with her, a few moments of silence passing between the pair.

"I will speak to the other sympathisers and see whether they'll come forward to meet you. I'll let you know more soon." LeBlanc then created another passageway, taking her leave quickly.

Riven sat down at the dining table, playing with the knuckles of her left hand nervously. Things had moved in a direction she hadn't expected. She thought LeBlanc may have wanted power for herself which turned out to be far from the case. Even though it wasn't ideal to possibly be LeBlanc's pawn, the possibility to change Noxus for the better and end conflict in Ionia for good would be worth the risk. She wondered if Irelia would agree, whether she would believe it were worth the risk for Riven to change things for good. She wondered how Irelia would react when Riven told her the truth and what she was planning, would she be supportive?

Riven unclasped her rune sword from her back, putting it and her armour on the racks by the door and heading for the bathroom. It was the first time in almost two days that Riven had the chance to shower so she took her time, something she didn't normally do. Once out of the shower, she applied war paint to the burn on her face. Irelia had told her countless times she didn't need to hide the chemical burns she had received, asking her to stop applying the war paint but Riven preferred to hide her past the best she could, not wanting to advertise what had happened in Ionia.

As she climbed in bed, she thought to herself about how strange it was to sleep alone. Before Irelia, Riven had never been in a relationship but she had quickly gotten used to Irelia climbing into bed with her even if the Ionian didn't actually sleep and usually got out of bed when Riven fell asleep. Irelia had kept the habit even after Riven found out that she didn't in hopes to quell Riven's nightmares and then Riven had gotten so used to Irelia being beside her, she didn't really sleep at all unless the Captain joined her. Riven hated to admit how attached she had become, how reliant, even if she openly admitted to being in love with Irelia. Riven's thoughts and guilt gnawed at her for a few hours until she finally gave way to sleep, waking up only an hour later at the sound of the window being forced open.

Riven made eye contact with the woman climbing through the window, her crimson hair being caught in the light and making her completely recognisable. She leapt up, forcing herself out of bed and backing away from the window, heading towards her rune sword. After all, the last time Katarina had entered a room while she was sleeping; she attempted to kill her and nearly succeeded.

"Come to kill me again?" She asked, picking up her rune sword and pointing at the assassin, earning her only a laugh from the redhead.

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have made a better attempt than that. Good assassins aren't loud, Exile." Riven watched the assassin saunter over to her with her classic arrogant stride, when Riven saw that Katarina was largely unarmed she began to lower her blade.

"What do you want?"

"LeBlanc sent me." Katarina started, hoping that Riven would figure it out from there but Riven remained silent. "She wanted me to reveal myself to you as someone who plans to help." Riven nodded slowly, still keeping her eyes locked on the assassin.

"Why would you want to help me?" Riven watched as the corners of Katarina's mouth twisted mostly into a scowl.

"Swain killed my father. I want to kill Swain. I don't particularly care who replaces him and LeBlanc wants you, so." The assassin shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"You want revenge badly enough to put an exile, a traitor, in charge?" Riven asked, examining the assassin harshly. As she did with LeBlanc, she was waiting for the trick, wanting to know how she was being deceived.

"Of course. I want revenge and to prove that the Du Couteau name is not to be messed with." Riven quirked her brow, she was both simultaneously surprised and not surprised by the assassin's simplicity.

"What about your sister? Is she in on this as well?" Riven didn't know much about Katarina but she knew enough that even though her and Cassiopeia bickered and fought, they basically acted as a unit when it came to things like this.

"Yes, her and Talon are willing to follow whatever I decide. I've decided to follow LeBlanc in order to get what I want." Riven nodded. "Do you know what you need now, Exile? Can I go back to my quarters?" The assassin added with a snarky tone as she headed back for the window. Riven shrugged, letting Katarina escape into the night.

Riven stood in the dark of Irelia's quarters for a few moments before putting her rune sword back on the rack and returning the bed, climbing back under the sheets. She sat with her thoughts until she managed to fall asleep again.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Riven was woken up with a smack to the head with a staff, LeBlanc looming over her with an unimpressed look. She sat up, the bed covers falling off her and rubbed the side of her head where LeBlanc had hit her.

"What?" She asked.

"I want your answer." Riven rubbed at her eyes, still half asleep.

"My answer?"

"Yes. Did you think I was going to let you go home and ask permission from your girlfriend?" Riven swung her legs over the edge of the bed, looking up at the Deceiver. "Do you not want power? Because I can find someone else." Riven sat in silence in response to that question. "That's what I thought. I'll contact you again when it is time for you to return to Noxus."

Riven watched as LeBlanc left in one of her own passageways then moved to begin sorting out her belongings. She wasn't exactly sure how she was going to spin this to Irelia when she returned home, how do you spin participating in a coup? Riven grabbed her things and headed for the door. This had taken far less time than she had thought, she had at least expected to be participating in some sort of planning session before they went ahead but it seemed as if LeBlanc already knew what she was going to do.

Riven took her time on her way back to the Placidium, she was already far ahead of schedule after only having stayed at the Institute for one night. She chose to stay one night a small inn on the main route back. She could make the trip in less than twenty four hours if she didn't choose to stop but stopping gave her time to think about what she would say when she got back.

It was in the late evening the next day that she finally returned to the Placidium, to their home. She unlocked the front door and was met with Irelia sitting at the dining room table as if she had been waiting for Riven to return, a sight that gave Riven a sinking feeling. Her suspicions were confirmed when she locked eyes with Irelia, a look of both anger and disappointment on her face.

"Who are you seeing?" She asked in a sharp tone, the question puzzling Riven.

"Sorry, what?"

"You disappeared for four days, saying you were going to the Institute to help Luxanna Crownguard with something and the next day she turns up here on a diplomatic mission from Demacia, having no clue about the letters and meeting you told me about before you left. So, let me ask you again, who are you seeing?" Even though Irelia was right to be mad, she had caught Riven in a lie, she couldn't lie about being a little hurt that the Captain had thought she was cheating on her or that she was even capable of it.

"I'm not seeing anyone."

"Then where were you?"

"I was at the Institute. I just didn't go there to see Luxanna Crownguard." Riven said as she dropped her bag and rune sword by the door, not taking the time to put them away properly, it wasn't the moment for that.

"So you are seeing someone, another champion?"

"No, I'm not seeing anyone. I had a meeting with LeBlanc." Irelia's expression changed from pain and anger to largely confusion.

"LeBlanc? Why would you meet with her?"

"After the Elders signed the accords and after I gave my testimony, I hid in the gardens for a few hours to calm down. She approached me and offered to help me change Noxus. At first I refused to accept an offer from her but after months of living here as an outsider, I began to miss home even if it isn't perfect. She's come up with a plan to change things, one she wants me to participate in." The anger that had disappeared made its return to Irelia's face as she stood up, kicking the chair out from behind her.

"How could you do something so reckless? You know who she is. You know what they're all like and you risked everything because you're homesick?" Irelia yelled causing Riven to take a small step backwards. In all their time together, Irelia had never spoken to her like that before. Riven felt herself begin to panic, what had she done? Irelia never got this mad; she even thought that Riven was cheating on her.

"I'm sorry, I'll go." She managed to murmur out, not even loud enough for Irelia to really hear her as she stepped back out the front door.

It wasn't until Riven had walked a fair distance away from the home that she realised she had left her gear back on the floor in the entranceway of the house, she didn't have anything with her for the cold weather and she was beginning to feel the chill now as it got later into the night. Riven leaned up against the wall in an alleyway, sliding down into a crouched position and wrapping her arms around her knees. She was going to give Irelia some space and hope for the best, Riven had no experience when it came to things like this and she was certainly not very good at coping with her own emotions let alone someone else's.

Riven woke up when she felt some hands on her shoulders, she hadn't even realised that she'd managed to fall asleep despite the cold. In front of her, Irelia was in a crouched position, looking her in the eyes. She certainly looked a lot calmer than she had hours prior.

"Come back home, you're going to freeze to death." Riven hesitated to move before Irelia ran her hands down her forearms, creating friction to keep her warm and giving her a comforting touch. "I'm sorry I assumed you were cheating on me, that wasn't fair but lying to me wasn't fair either, even if you were planning to tell me later. I think I can come around to this idea, I just need to know more and have some time, okay?" Riven nodded, standing up with the help of Irelia, now that she moved she realised how cold she was. Irelia quickly wrapped her up in a jacket and started taking her back home. Once the pair had arrived back home, Riven sat down at the dining table across from Irelia who smiled softly at her.

"I don't know the details of the exact plan yet, but LeBlanc is wanting to remove Swain in order to replace him with someone else. She wants the someone else to be me." Irelia quirked her eyebrow.

"Why you?"

"She wants someone she thinks she can use as a pawn, someone who won't get in her way but I'm not afraid of her."

"Is it just LeBlanc?"

"No, Katarina Du Couteau, Cassiopeia Du Couteau and their adopted sibling Talon are also involved. Possibly others that I haven't met yet." Irelia scowled slightly at the mention of Riven's name, most likely thinking about the attempt made on her life months ago by the assassin.

"And when is this plan supposed to commence?"

"LeBlanc will contact me when I need to return to Noxus and then we'll go from there, I think." Irelia looked down at her hands, thinking intensely.

"I'll need some time to think about this. That's… a lot of information." Riven nodded. "For now, just come to bed so I can hold you, okay?" Riven smiled slightly and followed the Ionian back up to their bedroom.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Riven had pretended to go to sleep, letting Irelia leave their bed and go downstairs without feeling like she had to stay. She spent most of the night lying in the dark, thinking about what was to come next with LeBlanc's plan. She didn't know how this was going to work out, how she could continue being with Irelia if she was the Grand General back in Noxus, assuming of course that LeBlanc keeps her word. Riven knew that Irelia was sitting downstairs at the dining table, trying to think through how she was going to tell Karma about what was happening, how she would be able to sell something so crazy to one of the most level-headed Elders. She was also probably thinking about how things would work too, not sure on how she would be able to with Riven when she returned to Noxus, it was already hard enough for the pair of them with the hate they receive for Riven being Noxian as it was.

Riven spent several hours lying in bed, waiting past when the sun came up and well into the middle of the day, wanting to give Irelia as much space to consider her options as possible. Riven was afraid the Ionian would end things with her if she chose to go back to Noxus, to take LeBlancs offer, and she didn't know if she could handle that kind of rejection. Riven considered possibly even turning down LeBlanc's offer if it would save things with Irelia, even if she continued to live in Ionia which made her unhappy, she would stay with the Ionian as long as she would have her.

Eventually Riven couldn't continue to lie by herself in bed any more, forcing herself out of bed and down the stairs, finding Irelia exactly where she predicted, at the dining table with a few papers spread out in front of her. Riven took a seat in front of her, waiting patiently for the captain to acknowledge her presence, to let her know what was to come next for them.

"I'm going to help you." Irelia said, putting the papers on the table together and to the side, "I think it would be great for you to replace Swain, not just for you or Noxus but for Ionia as well, for us."

"For us?" Riven asked, somewhat confused with the statement. Was Irelia trying to imply that it would be good for them if Riven lived elsewhere? That it would be good for them to end things? Irelia sensed Riven's feelings, swiftly trying to assure her.

"I don't mean it like that. You'll be happier to spend more time in Noxus, even if it means us moving back and forth." Riven's heart soared, though she wouldn't want to admit it, at the idea of Irelia being willing to spend time in Noxus just to spend time with her, to be flexible to make Riven happy.

"You'd be willing to come to Noxus?" Riven asked, trying to hide her excitement.

"I would, we can move back and forth, I want to make this work, Riven. I love you." She said, placing her hand on top of Riven's, rubbing her thumb along the back of Riven's hand.

"I love you too." Irelia offered her a soft smile in response to hearing those words from the Noxians.

"Now, we need to speak to Karma, at the very least she needs to know what's coming, even if she doesn't agree with it." Riven nodded in response before following the Ionian upstairs to their bedroom, the pair of them taking a shower together and getting dressed. She enjoyed the domestic parts of living with Irelia far more than she would care to admit, she liked being able to live a routine with Irelia, to do just the normal things with her. After years of being on her own, after living a military life where she didn't get to enjoy the simple things of being normal, being with someone, Riven enjoyed every moment she had with Irelia, even when they fought.

Once they were dressed they headed for Karma's office in the centre of the Placidium, Irelia having Karma clear a space in her schedule to talk immediately. Irelia went through the entire background to what had happened, what LeBlanc had offered Riven and their joint intention for them to take it, to go through with the plan for Riven to take over as Grand General. Karma remained silent, a neutral expression on her face, as Irelia talked. The captain continued to talk, trying to explain her thoughts and her plans for what would come after Riven took over, trying to justify everything to Karma. Irelia didn't need Karma's permission as an Elder but she still wanted her friend's approval, for Karma to tell her planning to be with Riven as the Grand General of Noxus was a good idea. After a few minutes of silence, Karma continuing to process what she had heard, she finally spoke.

"Okay. Riven, if LeBlanc's plan were to succeed and you were to take over as Grand General, would you be willing to negotiate an actual lasting peace with Ionia?"

"Of course, I couldn't continue this pointless conflict if I had the power to stop it, not just because of my relationship with Irelia but because it's wrong, there's no reason to continue it other than Swain's own ambitions and with him gone…" Riven shrugged instead of continuing her sentence, letting Karma take the implication from it.

"Then I have no issue with your plan to stay together if it succeeds," The Elder smiled at the pair of them, "I hope it works out, it would benefit us all to see a change of leadership in Noxus, I'm sure the other Elders could agree at least on that."

"We can hope that they do." Irelia said, returning a slightly anxious smile to Karma before standing up and ushering Riven out of the Elder's office. Irelia turned to Riven as they walked down the hallway. "So what comes next?"

"Now, we wait."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

A few more weeks passed, Riven returned to her normal position of training soldiers in Noxian techniques and tactics, Irelia returned to her position as Captain of the Guard, both continuing as if things were normal as they waited for LeBlanc's signal. Irelia made several attempts to get Riven to let her join them, to come to Noxus to help take down Swain but Riven refused, not wanting to get Irelia involved if anything were to go badly, only giving the Noxian's an excuse to invade Ionia if Irelia was found to be involved and Swain lived. Riven hoped that the captain would understand her concerns, would find them valid and let Riven prevent her from going but the exile knew that Irelia would do what she wanted anyway.

A letter appeared under the front door of their home in the dead of night, it was from LeBlanc, Riven recognised the seal on the front without having to look at it. She opened it and passed it to Irelia, wordlessly asking Irelia to read it for her. Irelia confirmed it was LeBlanc asking her to move, to return to Noxus on a certain date for them to be able to sneak in past the outer walls of the capital. Now that Irelia knew the plans, Riven figured it would be impossible to dissuade her now, choosing to let the Ionian come with her.

After a few days, Riven and Irelia packed their belongings, choosing to leave after nightfall and head towards the southern border of Ionia. It would take several days and the pair of them would have to move in the night only, not bringing any attention to themselves or leaving any witnesses that could claim to have seen Riven or Irelia pass through the border and into Noxus. Irelia came up with a viable excuse for the pair of them to disappear for multiple weeks, creating a fake mission for the both of them to disappear on, one that could be extended if necessary.

As they travelled past each small town, they camped in nearby forests or slept in barns. It took nearly a week for them to reach the border, Riven doing her best to remember the movements troops took in order to avoid a confrontation. It was another two days before they reached the outer walls of the capital city, arriving just a few hours before the meet time with LeBlanc. They waited in the dark, in the forests outside the city before LeBlanc made an appearance at their meeting point, creating passageways with her magic to let them inside.

Riven could feel that they were underground, walking through tunnels that had most likely not been used by anyone in centuries, largely forgotten by anyone other than LeBlanc of course who would use it to her own advantage. When they resurfaced, they were in front of a place that Riven didn't recognise except for the insignia on the gates. It was the Du Couteau estate. Katarina let the three of them in, the assassin being unable to hide her sneer at the sight of Irelia in front of her but the captain choosing not to call her out on her hatred for her.

It was clear that Katarina had dismissed the usual staff that worked in the mansion, the hallways of the mansion unusually empty. She figured even the most loyal of servants wouldn't be able to keep the identities of their guests a secret, who wouldn't want to tell everyone that Du Couteau's were hiding the Ionian Captain of the Guard inside their mansion? Or that they were hiding the exile that ended the Ionian-Noxian conflict with her betrayal? It would be enough for them to all be killed.

Katarina led Riven and Irelia to a guest room on the far side of the mansion, obviously far from any of the main rooms, smaller and less lavish but still incredibly over the top as a Du Couteau guest room would be. It wasn't until LeBlanc spoke that Riven realised that they had been travelling in silence since they met at the outer walls, not wanting to be overheard in their plans for a coup.

"Now, I will be looking for the best opportunity for us to strike High Command. It will probably take a couple of days so Katarina has so kindly offered to let the two of you stay here while we wait." Katarina sneered at LeBlanc at the idea of her having offered to let them stay, it was far more likely that LeBlanc had told her that they would be staying here. "I will be in contact as soon as I find the best opportunity for us to strike. I know I told you not to let Captain Lito become involved," LeBlanc turned to Irelia before continuing, "But I am actually glad that you have let her come with you, we're going to need all the extra hands we can get to carry this out, it won't be easy for us to do it."

"Thank you, keep us updated on what's happening." Riven said before the Deceiver left the room, leaving the Ionian, the exile and the assassin alone in the guest room.

"Make yourself comfortable, just take what you want from the kitchen. Extra blankets are in the cupboard over there." Katarina murmured, trying not to advertise her hospitality, gesturing with her hand to the cupboard in the corner of the room. "Try not to need me." She said, louder this time, before also exiting the room.

Irelia climbed into bed with Riven, holding her as she did most nights. It had become a habit that Riven had grown to love, even if it was illogical. Irelia couldn't sleep ever but the pair of them continued to do this every night, it had grown to help Riven sleep in spite of her nightmares and Irelia knew this, never pointing out her reliance on Irelia as she knew how much Riven hated to be vulnerable. Riven was exhausted from several days of travel and poor sleep in the cold of Ionia's forests, falling asleep very quickly in Irelia's arms.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

Riven and Irelia were largely left alone over the following days, waiting for LeBlanc's signal to go ahead. Katarina was far from interested in interacting with either of them and the pair were grateful for it. Irelia had mostly been flicking through some of the books left in the room, most likely just to store them somewhere out of sight since no one used the room typically. Eventually some of the books written in the native Noxian language piqued Irelia's interest, she was in Noxus after all, even if she couldn't go anywhere to actually look at anything she could still find out some new things about where Riven was from.

"Do you think you could read some of this to me?" She turned to Riven, book in hand. It looked like it was some sort of book of fairy tales to Riven but she couldn't be sure.

"I could barely read Noxian before now and I haven't had any practice with it since I left but I can try." Riven had never been taught the common tongue barring the most basic of military terms and had barely received teaching in Noxian for her reports to High Command before she left Noxus, she didn't think she would know enough to really understand the book herself let alone explain it to Irelia but the captain seemed interested in learning more about Noxus and where Riven was from and she wasn't going to say no to that.

Riven laid herself down on the bed and Irelia climbed in beside her, resting her head on Riven's chest as Riven began to flick through some of the pages. She squinted, concentrated and tried her best on trying to figure out what the story was about. All Riven could discern that it was a tale about a male who supposedly lived centuries ago and slayed a Demacian king.

"Sorry, I can't read it. I wish I could, it probably has some good stories in there. I wish you could hear them." Riven looked away, feeling disappointed with herself, she had let Irelia get excited about hearing something from Riven's culture.

"That's okay. I should have known before asking. Maybe we should bring that book and some others back to Ionia so when we're staying there after this we can keep working on your learning to read, if you're going to be Grand General, you're going to have to know how to read and write in Noxian." Riven let out a slight sigh, being grateful for Irelia's ability to solve problems and make Riven feel comfortable with herself even when she felt she hadn't lived up to expectations.

"You don't think Katarina would notice if we stole some?"

"Probably not, most of these books are covered in dust. I don't think she's the type who reads much anyway." Irelia chuckled to herself, happy with her small dig at the assassin before her demeanour changed, becoming more serious. "I know you haven't wanted to talk about it since the Institute and since you gave your testimony to help stop Noxus' invasion of Ionia but I want to know what happened to you in the war. Could you please talk to me about it? I do worry with all of the nightmares sometimes." Irelia ran her hand up and down Riven's upper arm affectionately, trying to show she was asking out of worry and not nosiness, trying to make Riven comfortable enough to finally share more detail with her.

"You already saw everything from my eyes when I gave my testimony, I don't think me retelling it to you would be more accurate or helpful in anyway." Riven rebuffed her, not wanting to speak about her feelings, she knew the Ionian had good intentions, she always did but Riven couldn't open herself up to talking about that without breaking down. She knew Irelia was asking because of where they were and what was about to happen, she wanted to know more about Riven in case anything happened, she wanted to understand the exile more.

"I know. Of course, I know what happened but it's not the same as understanding your perspective. Riven, I love you, and it makes me worry to know you're bottling it up inside and then not sleeping or having horrific nightmares."

"I don't think you could understand the guilt of murdering innocent people or letting innocent men who trust you to lead them die in front of you before you escape with your life. I may have been seriously injured by what happened, but I deserved to die." Irelia let out a small, anxious sigh at the sound of those words coming from Riven's mouth.

"You still believe that? That you deserve to die?"

"Karma and the other Elders should have chosen to execute me. The only thing keeping me together is you, Irelia." Riven said as she ran her fingers through Irelia's soft raven hair, curling it around her finger tips. "If you won't kill me, I won't take my own life, I'm too cowardly for that but I still think I deserve it, my nightmares remind me of that most nights."

"I hope we can change that, do you think fixing Noxus will help you move on? Do you think setting Noxus on the right path so the Ionian invasion can never happen again will solve the problem of your guilt?"

"I don't think it ever will, the only thing that eases my pain is you." Riven said, pressing her lips to the top of Irelia's head.

"I'm glad to hear that there's something, even if it's only a little and it's just me. I hope we can change that, I hope that you're wrong about yourself."

"Maybe I am, I hope so for you. I can't imagine you would want to be with someone so miserable for the rest of my life." Riven had wanted to say the rest of Irelia's life but she knew deep down that Irelia couldn't die from natural causes the way that Riven could, even if they had never really said anything about it out loud, they both knew that Irelia would out live Riven by a long time. She figured this moment of vulnerability was the best time to speak about it finally. "When I die, I want you to move on, okay? Don't spend your time being miserable over me. You're going to be young forever, there's no need for that." Irelia looked up at her and gave her a sour look, clearly disliking the idea of Riven ever dying (even if it were of natural causes) and her out living the exile.

"Never. I couldn't do it." Riven let out a light chuckle at that, knowing that she had angered the captain by suggesting that she wasn't worth spending time grieving over.

"I just won't die then."

"Good, I would be extremely angry if you did." She offered Riven a slight smile before resting her head back down on Riven's chest, the exile's hand returning to Irelia's hair.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

Riven was woken up by Irelia shaking her. They had fallen asleep on the bed, on top of the covers where they had been cuddling and talking hours earlier, she had been so exhausted from lack of sleep from their journey and the sense of self hate that had worsened since returning to Noxus that finally Irelia getting her to share how she felt had made her finally get some rest. Katarina stood over them, eyebrow raised with her arms crossed over her chest.

"You awake now?" Riven forced herself up from the bed, Irelia doing the same, instead of answering the assassin's question. "LeBlanc is here. It's time." Riven nodded and headed towards her rune sword that sat resting against the wall, grabbing it by its hilt and strapping it to her back. Irelia put on her armour and summoned her blades from the box she had been storing them in. The pair followed Katarina throughout the halls of the house, heading down to the front entranceway where LeBlanc was waiting patiently alongside Cassiopeia and Talon.

"Swain has left for a summit in Zaun, they're planning a reinvasion of Ionia as we speak. It's the perfect time to strike, cause High Command to crumble while he is out of Noxus and prevent him from returning. We will certainly lose our alliance with Zaun over this but no matter, we can find some better allies from this if all goes well. Is everyone ready to move?" LeBlanc looked through the group, waiting only a few moments for someone to speak up before heading out the double front doors of the Du Couteau manor. They were all armed with their best weapons and armour as they walked through the underground passages of Noxus, bringing them to the front gates of High Command.

LeBlanc gave a short, sly smile to the men at the front gates who froze at the sight of Riven and Irelia standing with them, they were definitely in the intelligence reports circulating High Command as people to kill on sight by that reaction. The guards withdrew their weapons only for them to be brought to their knees by short flashes of LeBlanc's magic before she walked past their corpses that had fallen to the ground.

Riven followed LeBlanc's lead, marching throughout the building, taking the lives of only those who stood in their way as they had agreed. Riven had forced LeBlanc to concede to this, not wanting to kill anyone who was willing to step out of the way and let them through. Many of the younger and lower ranking officers of High Command were willing to get out of their way, they didn't care for who was in charge of High Command at this moment, not when they could possibly live through a regime change instead of dying to protect the existing one. Due to the time of night and with Swain being gone, it was far more relaxed in High Command, leaving it vulnerable for a coup like this one to succeed.

Once they got through to the inner halls of the building, they began to run into higher ranking members of High Command, including some Generals. One of the generals they ran into, Riven barely recognised, she only knew the man by name. He had done a good job and largely kept to himself throughout the years, not liking the fanfare that came with successful military campaigns. At the sight of LeBlanc, Riven and the others, he rose his hands in a defensive position before smiling at LeBlanc.

"So it's been a success so far?" The General asked LeBlanc, his eyes flicking briefly to Riven.

"It looks like it. Are you ready to begin the next stage then?" The man raised his eyebrow before nodding.

"I'll inform my men to find their way here, once you've killed or subdued them all, we will need my men to lock the place down." LeBlanc offered him a small smile before heading off in the opposite direction, being pleased with his reaction to their success.

Riven and Irelia split from the group after this moment, the Du Couteau siblings heading out on their own in hopes to find some more information on their missing (probably deceased) father while they headed throughout the floor that housed the General's offices, wanting to make sure they had taken care of the rest of them.

After several minutes of searching, finding nothing but demolished offices from the chaos of it all, they found their way into Swain's office. The lower ranking officers and some of the Generals must have pillaged the place on the way out, taking any possessions they felt they could sell. Riven scanned the room with her eyes, most of anything worth having was already gone. She figured this plan had only worked because Swain wasn't here to take charge, most of the soldiers were scattered due to the time of day and couldn't respond quickly to their attack. Riven didn't expect anything less from the Deceiver, she knew exactly when to strike for their small group coup on High Command to succeed.

Riven watched Irelia as she took the opportunity to search the room for intel, for information she could bring back to Ionia before they would have to have a wall of confidentiality between them. Riven let her have this opportunity, letting Irelia have something useful to bring back to Karma, she didn't need to keep this a secret from Irelia when she was going to change where Noxus was going. Her attention on the captain was drawn away when something caught her eye from the corner of the room, Riven headed over to it. Swain had left his Grand General coat behind, he hadn't ever been fond of wearing it but she was still surprised he left on a diplomatic mission and left it behind. She ran her fingers over the patches on the shoulder with the Noxian insignia and the markings that showed rank of Grand General. She was brought out of her focus on the coat when Irelia called out to her.

"Riven, watch out!" Riven turned quickly, just in time to spot General Darius bringing his axe down on her through a powerful overhead swing.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

Riven made a quick roll over the desk to her right side, the blade of the axe only making a brief cut on the top of Riven's shoulder before she got out of range. She could feel the blood rolling down her skin but she would worry about that later. Once back on her feet on the other side of the desk, she removed her rune sword from her back and gripped the hilt firmly. He swung at her again, this time Riven brought her blade up to protect herself, twisting herself into him for a counter attack. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Irelia coming in with her own blades, bringing them down on General Darius' back, once she made contact with his flesh, he spun around away from Riven and hit Irelia with the back of his axe, knocking her to the ground.

Riven took the opportunity given in that moment to bring her blade across the General's abdomen, slicing through his stomach. She paused after this, taking a moment to look up at Darius' face in confusion, she knew the man well enough from her own days in the Noxian military to know that killing him was far from this easy, had he given up? Riven kicked Darius on the front of his knee, causing him to fall to his other knee on the ground, clutching the wound on his stomach.

"Why?" Riven asked him, knowing that Darius wasn't going to fight back any longer, making eye contact with him.

"Why what?" He growled back at her, very clearly in pain but trying to hide it behind a mask of anger and hatred for the exile.

"You've given up, why are you letting me kill you?"

"You don't get to know why, exile." He spat at her, Riven took this to mean as he had seen something that finally caused even him, the Hand of Noxus, to falter in his loyalty to Noxus. She raised her eyebrow at him before bringing her blade up and using the broken edge to cut through his throat. She could have left him to die from the wound she had inflicted on his abdomen but she decided to end his life quickly after he let another side of him show to her.

Riven put the rune sword back in its clasps on her back, heading back over to the coat she had been looking at before Darius arrived. She removed it from the rack it hung on and slung it over her shoulder. Now that Darius was dead, they would need to find LeBlanc and the others to find out what comes next. When Riven and Irelia exited Swain's office, they found a group of soldiers beginning to clean up the mess they had made. They were clearly men who worked for the General they had run into earlier, ordered to secure High Command and remove the bodies of those who had refused to get out of their way.

They found LeBlanc, the General they had met earlier and the others in the war room on the same floor, they were looking through the plans that had been left out after the previous meeting of the Generals. LeBlanc looked up at her briefly before turning back at the pages in front of her. Riven reached the table in the middle of the room and began to run her eyes over the pages as well, looking for something that she could read. It was all in Noxian and her Noxian was still very poor, Irelia couldn't read it either so the pair of them waited for LeBlanc to say something about what they found. Riven scanned the map on the wall while she waited to hear more, seeing if she could figure things out herself. It looked like they were planning for a reinvasion of Ionia, it was most likely what Swain had left Noxus to speak to their allies in Zaun about.

"They were building chemical weapons, even worse than the ones originally used in Ionia. They planning to use them in Ionia and then move from there, through Demacia and then Piltover."

"Worse?" Riven asked, "How could they design anything worse than what they used last time?"

"This one was going to not just kill those in the impact area, it was going to release a gas that would kill those nearby as well. It has a range of up to ten kilometres." Riven could see Irelia stiffen at the sound of those words from LeBlanc's mouth in the corner of her eye. Riven wondered if this was the reason that Darius gave up, he didn't have a problem with killing Ionians or anyone else for that matter but did he have a problem with the weapon itself? Would it have been killing people without honour to him?

"Do you know if the production has been completed?" Irelia asked, already knowing what Riven was going to say next.

"It looks to be near completion. I think that's what Swain had left Noxus for, to discuss the invasion of Ionia and the last details of the design."

"Do you think that Zaun could act without the help of Noxus?" Irelia asked, nervously rubbing her fingers over her knuckles, she was worried that even with Noxus no longer under Swain's control that there would be an invasion that would cripple Ionia once again.

"No, I don't believe so. It's a powerful weapon but they would need a large army like Noxus' to be able to follow it up. They don't have the military power to use it and then finish the invasion." LeBlanc said with a slightly reassuring tone, it was different from the normal smug one that Riven heard so often from her. LeBlanc then turned her eyes to Riven, "I see you found the Grand General's coat, maybe you should put it on now to see if it fits." Riven quirked a brow before removing the blade from her back, pulling the coat over her shoulders. It was a bit too big in the shoulders but it wasn't something that bothered her too much, she would live with it as it was.

"I think it suits you." Irelia said with a slight smile.

"We're lucky that Swain has become incredibly paranoid and lost in the last few months, it made this take over much easier than it could have been. He kept as much information to himself as possible, causing the Generals to be unable to work together tonight to fight back." LeBlanc gave a sort of victorious smirk at the sight of Riven wearing the Grand General's coat, her plan having succeeded in putting someone that she thought she could control in Swain's place. "I don't believe I've introduced my friend here, this is General Titus." LeBlanc gestured to the tall, blond man standing beside her. "This is Riven, though I figure now we call her Grand General Riven." Riven extended her hand over the table to him, Titus responding with a firm handshake. The idea of her title being Grand General was a bit strange to Riven though she did like it.


	13. Epilogue

Epilogue:

Riven forced herself out of bed, it was still dark out, she hated the days when she had to get up so early for inspections. She almost never got enough sleep before these days. It had been hard in the months since Riven became Grand General, she and Irelia were moving back and forth between Noxus and Ionia in carefully negotiated trips so as to not cause any issues diplomatically. It was harder for Riven to sleep in the periods of time where they couldn't be together but they were prepared to work around the difficulties of it all.

Swain had made attempts to return to power in Noxus in the months that had followed, but remained unsuccessful due to Zaun's lack of commitment. Zaun didn't seem willing to back a man who no longer had any living supporters in Noxus, they couldn't find a single one of Riven's new Generals who felt like risking their current position for even more power under Swain who had a reputation of not keeping his promises. More and more it seemed like the people of Noxus were more willing to take a chance on Riven as their Grand General than have Swain return.

As soon as Riven had settled into power, proper peace accords with Ionia began, discussing a more permanent end to the conflict between Noxus and Ionia. Many Noxian civilians were glad to hear the plan to end conflict with Ionia permanently, too many soldiers had been conscripted for a conflict that had brought no results.

Riven forced herself into her uniform, pulling the grand generals coat over her shoulders before tying her hair up loosely. The only light at the end of the tunnel that was this miserable day of inspecting the barracks, soldiers and weapons in development was that Irelia was returning to visit her for the first time in almost a month. Riven hadn't been able to leave to visit her at any point due to the classified nature of what Irelia was taking care of, Karma trusted Riven but not enough for her to trust that Riven wouldn't use that information against Ionia if it came to it.

Riven spent the most of her day trudging through the grounds that she used to live in almost two years ago, being forced to look at one thing or another and pretend to be impressed. This sort of politicking wasn't something she was very good at or very interested in but she pushed through it, knowing that it would be worth it to sit through the parts of the job she didn't like in order to lead Noxus in a direction that she could live with. She felt relieved to not be living in the barracks any more, they were damp and cramped when she lived there and felt even worse on her return, they had given Riven the mansion Swain had been living in prior to the coup as her place to live. It was far bigger and more lavish than she expected or wanted so she chose to live in a small section of the house, refused to take on any servant staff and had most of the furniture thrown away.

Riven pushed her way through the inspections before returning to her office at High Command. The rest of the day was relatively mundane, a meeting with a few of the different Generals about promotions and completing their restructure of the military before meeting with LeBlanc about some intelligence she had gathered on Demacia. Riven had requested LeBlanc to look into the opinions of the Demacian royal family and its higher ups about her take over as Grand General and what they expected, whether they were possibly looking to take advantage of their transition in power.

At the end of the day, Riven was glad to have returned home. She could see the lights on from the outside, Irelia had arrived back in Noxus and had been let through the underground tunnels to their home here, she was inside waiting for Riven to return from High Command. Riven pushed her way through the front door and through the corridors to the part of the manor that she was actually using, finding Irelia in the small kitchen, making some food.

"You're here early." Riven remarked with a smile, the Ionian returning it.

"My assignment finished faster than planned so I got to travel here a day early." Irelia replied, dropping the spoon she was using onto the counter and pulling Riven into a deep kiss as she entered the kitchen. "Have you missed me?" Irelia asked with a slight smirk.

"More than you know." Riven said before pulling away, grabbing some of the plates she had in the cupboard and taking them out to the dining table to set up for dinner. A lot of the useful items in this manor either belonged to Swain or even a Grand General before him or Irelia had managed to talk Riven into buying. The only item Riven had bought on her own was a TV from Piltover. She had always been curious about them and now she had unlimited funds, it had been as expensive as she had thought it would be.

The pair ate dinner together, talking back and forth about what they had been doing in the almost month since Riven had last seen Irelia. They shared what they were allowed to share even when Riven trusted Irelia not to use any information she shared against her or Noxus, LeBlanc would most likely murder Riven personally if she found out she was sharing state secrets with her girlfriend.

"I know it's been hard." Irelia said, bringing Riven out of her own deep thoughts, "But we're making this work, it's hard to not be able to share everything with you anymore but that's okay." Irelia had obviously sensed that Riven had been checked out of their conversation, worried about something, making an attempt to reassure her.

"I know, thanks." Riven smiled at Irelia, trying to return the reassurance. Irelia stood up, grabbing the dirty dishes from the table, only pausing to look at her for a moment.

"Now, stay right there while I take care of this." Riven shuddered at the tone that Irelia used, she only ever used that voice when she was planning to beat stripes into her. Riven bit into her lower lip when she realised that Irelia had purposely used that voice in order to get her worked up and make her wait as she took her time, she wasn't just putting the dishes on the kitchen counter to take care of later, she was actually cleaning them. Riven was torn, she hadn't been touched by Irelia in nearly a month and it made her want to go straight into the kitchen to take the Ionian right then but she knew she would be punished for her disobedience. She knew she would be rewarded for waiting. Eventually when Irelia did return to where she had left Riven, she could hear a hum of approval from Irelia, she was pleased with Riven's self-control.

"Good girl." She purred as she pressed herself up against the back of the chair Riven was still sitting in, her hands slowly making their way down from Riven's shoulders to the top of her pants. "Shall I see just how much you've missed me?" Irelia had barely touched her and Riven could already feel herself getting very worked up, fuck. She shuddered when Irelia's hand made its way into her pants and underwear, running a teasing finger along her clit. Riven's right leg jerked at the touch, earning a possessive chuckle from the woman behind her before she removed her hand causing Riven to let out a small huffed whine.

"Don't complain, you'll earn what you're waiting for soon enough." Irelia said with a smirk as she ran her fingers lightly along Riven's jaw, "Now, get on your knees, love." Riven shuddered slightly, less violently than when Irelia had put her hand down her pants, before making her way off the chair and onto her knees in front of Irelia. Irelia stood in front of the chair Riven had just been sitting in, making intense eye contact with Riven as she unbuckled her own belt and pulled her pants down to her ankles before taking a seat in front of Riven. Irelia grabbed Riven by her hair tightly, pulling her forward and pressing her mouth to Irelia, quickly getting to work using her tongue. Riven knew that this was only part of making Riven earn being touched by Irelia, that the captain most likely had been planning what she was going to make the Noxian do for days, the thought of Irelia planning what she was going to do to Riven made her double down in her efforts, using her tongue to circle Irelia's clit.

Riven knew what she was doing was right when Irelia's hand continued to tighten its grip on her hair, as if to pull her as close as possible. Riven continued working Irelia's clit with her mouth, earning a few shaky moans from the captain, before putting her hands up on Irelia's knees to keep herself stable against the pulling from Irelia's hand in her hair. Over time Riven had figured out exactly what Irelia liked, she knew that only using her mouth to bring Irelia to orgasm was something the captain was turned on by even if she wouldn't admit to it.

Irelia always stopped making noise during her orgasms, losing her composure and ability to control Riven as she liked for only a few moments. Riven pulled her mouth away, wiping Irelia's wetness away from her mouth using the sleeve of her coat, she could wash it later. The Noxian knew Irelia had regained her composure when she smirked down at Riven.

"It's a nice sight to have the Noxian Grand General on her knees." Irelia said before pulling Riven in for a surprisingly gentle kiss before she stood up, pulling her pants back up and buckling the belt again. "Go to the bedroom." Riven pulled her leg up to stand up when Irelia pulled roughly on her hair again, "On your hands and knees." Riven dropped to her hands and knees and began to crawl towards their bedroom.

"Yes ma'am." She had managed to force out before she made her way into the bedroom. Irelia followed her in a far more dignified manner, obviously enjoying the sight of someone of Riven's new found title under her control and on their hands and knees before her. Riven knew that Irelia got off on the feeling of being powerful and Riven being Grand General only added to that now and Riven was more than happy to play into that when it made Irelia so turned on.

"Take your clothes off." Irelia commanded once Riven had reached the end of the bed, the Noxian lifting herself up from her hands but remaining still on her knees as she began to undress herself as Irelia watched with open hunger. When Riven went to get off her knees to remove her boots and pants, Irelia put her hand on her shoulder, indicating for her to keep them on for now. Riven watched silently as Irelia headed over to the box they had in the corner of the room. When Riven had moved into this manor, Irelia had bought some new toys for when she would visit Noxus.

Once Riven saw that Irelia held leather cuffs in her hands she held them out, waiting for Irelia to tighten them around her wrists. Riven let out a small smile when Irelia began to place the cuffs on her wrists, Irelia caught sight of the smile and returned it with a smirk, running her hand affectionately through Riven's hair. The Noxian had no clue how much she would grow to enjoy the punishments that Irelia dealt out when she first met her, now anytime she was alone with Irelia she would only hope that the captain would want to tie her down and punish her for the slightest of infractions.

"Feeling playful tonight then?" Riven just smiled some more instead of responding, knowing it wasn't one that Irelia expected her to answer. Irelia left her alone again, returning to the box across the room, this time picking out something they had one really used once before. Riven let out a shudder as Irelia tightened a leather collar around her neck before she hooked her index finger around it, pulling Riven forward by her neck, tying her arms up onto the bed posts. The bed had extravagantly carved wooden bedposts that Irelia had been using to loop the straps through to hold Riven in one place, far from the original idea behind the carving Riven assumed.

Riven felt Irelia's hands snake around her, undoing her belt and pull it free from the pant loops, her breathing quickening when she realised that Irelia was choosing to use her belt to hit her instead of her typical tools of torture. Irelia had seen the reaction Riven had to her removing her belt and let out a possessive chuckle, running her fingers affectionately up and down the nape of Riven's neck before pulling away and striking with the belt, hitting the edge of one of Riven's scars, causing Riven to jerk against the restraints. Irelia knew that while Riven had recovered, the skin was still sensitive, choosing to strike close to the scars in order to get more of a reaction from Riven.

"God fuck." Riven forced out between strikes, Irelia continuing to ruthlessly strike her back until the captain noticed Riven rubbing her thighs together, desperately trying to create some friction in order to get more pleasure out of this, having been turned on by Irelia's harshness enough that she couldn't resist.

"You just can't behave yourself, can you?" Irelia said as she held the belt between her fingers, her eyebrow quirked at Riven who was looking away guiltily as she realised she had been caught trying to pleasure herself. "I guess I'll have to help you take care of that." Riven looked up at her, confused by what seemed like Irelia rewarding her disobedience instead of punishing it. Irelia disappeared for a moment, leaving the bedroom before returning a few minutes later. Riven's eyes locked onto the toy that Irelia had brought back with her, it was a strap on, she swallowed hard at the sight, blushing slightly. Irelia had made Riven use it on her a few times before but it hadn't ever been used on her.

Irelia knelt behind Riven, leaving the Noxian tied up to the bed as she tightened the straps around her own waist before working Riven's pants down to her knees. Riven felt one of Irelia's hands tighten around her neck, pulling her head back, the captain's mouth hot on her ear as she pressed the tip of the toy against her causing Riven to whimper.

"Now, I'm going to fuck you with this, but you aren't allowed to come unless I say so. If you come before that I won't be touching you for the rest of the time I'm here, understand?" Riven let out a second muffled whimper before responding.

"Yes ma'am." Irelia released her neck at the sound of those words coming from her mouth, moving her hand to Riven's shoulder to steady the Noxian as she pressed the toy into Riven's entrance. Riven could feel herself shaking against the restraints, finally getting the pleasure she had been waiting for since Irelia had chosen to tease her in the dining room. The Noxian pressed her forehead into the edge of the bed as Irelia fucked her with the toy, it was far more overwhelming than she had feared when she first saw the toy. It had been so long since Irelia had touched her last that she was so sensitive to everything the captain did. It wasn't long before Riven's legs were shaking, right up on the edge of orgasm, desperately trying to keep herself from spilling over that edge before receiving permission, not wanting to leave herself unsatisfied for the rest of Irelia's visit.

"Please." Riven whimpered, hoping the captain would take pity on her, hoping that Irelia would realise that Riven was far too close to coming to keep this up. Riven's hope for pity was answered by Irelia only thrusting harder into her, trying to push her as close to her limit as possible. What a horrible person Irelia was being in this moment. Riven's arms tensed against the restraints as she begged again. "Please." She said louder this time. Irelia chuckled in response.

"Come now." Riven's toes curled as she came, letting out moans into the mattress before Irelia pulled the toy out from her, undoing the straps around her waist before tossing it aside. She began to remove the restraints around Riven's wrists and pulled Riven back into her, holding the Noxian.

"You're so cruel sometimes." Riven murmured into her earning a laugh from Irelia.

"Don't complain, you like it more than you say." Irelia said, smirking as she removed the collar around Riven's neck before placing it to the side of them before she pulled Riven's pants back up. Once Riven was thinking proper thoughts again, she turned herself around to face the captain.

"I had something I wanted to talk to you about but I got distracted by someone, stay here." Riven said as she forced herself up from the floor and grabbed her shirt from the ground, pulling it over her head as she left the room. Irelia moved from the floor to the bed, waiting patiently for the Noxian to return. When Riven returned, Irelia eyed her curiously as she clutched something in her right hand. "I know we've been trying to keep things quiet, not wanting people to know about our relationship now that I'm Grand General and everything but people already know, there's lots of rumours going around and people having believed that they've seen me in Ionia and you in Noxus…" Riven was looking for a reaction before she continued, Irelia just staring at her curiously during the silence, "Anyway, I don't think there's any point pretending any more that this isn't serious and that two leaders of two different nations that used to be at war aren't together. So uh…" Riven unclenched her fist, a box in her hand, Irelia's eyes darting to it before looking back up at her with a surprised look on her face.

"Don't you dare." Irelia said, causing Riven to panic, wondering if she had made a mistake, had misinterpreted Irelia's feelings for her.

"I-I'm sorry, I thought that-" She began to stammer, she hadn't expected to be rejected by Irelia, before being cut off by the captain.

"I mean, don't you dare ask me that without getting on your knees first." Irelia offering a reassuring smile before Riven dropped to her knee.

"I just figured that uh… since we're spending so much time together and that people already know that I should ask…" Riven stared up at Irelia who continued to smile down at her from her position on the edge of the bed, "Will you marry me?" Riven felt herself shaking, fumbling with the box in her hands, she hadn't ever imagined herself asking someone this question, especially someone who was Ionian but how things had changed. She certainly hadn't expected herself to be so awkward. Irelia laughed at the awkwardness of Riven's approach to the question.

"Of course." Irelia said before taking the box from Riven's hands, removing the ring from the box, examining it. "This is far too nice, Riven, I don't know if I can accept this."

"I have far too much money now, please take it." Irelia examined Riven's face for a moment before sliding the ring onto her finger and pulling Riven in for a deep kiss, wrapping her arms around the Noxian's neck.

"The Elders are going to be so pleased with this." Irelia said with a sarcastic tone, knowing how much the Elders hated the idea that she was in love with Riven. "Not that they could stop me even if they tried. Karma should be pleased though; she's been asking me about this for months now, telling me even to possibly ask you instead."

"It took months for me to get the courage to even ask. I don't know what I would have done if you had said no." Riven said as the Ionian kissed her forehead.

"You think I would risk my standing as Captain of the Guard to help you become Grand General and then say no to you when you ask me to marry you?" Irelia asked her, eyebrow raised. Now that the Ionian pointed it out, it did seem illogical to have worried, Irelia had been willing to risk everything to make Riven happy and to help Riven fulfil her goals, of course she loved Riven enough to marry her.

In the weeks that followed Riven's proposal to Irelia, they at first kept it to themselves until Irelia returned to Ionia. Riven took this time when Irelia was gone to inform LeBlanc and her Generals of her plan to marry the captain. The Generals seemed to not care too much about her plans but LeBlanc seemed displeased, worried that Irelia might leave Riven weak and vulnerable, though she didn't choose to actually voice her concerns. Riven made a mental note to keep her eye out for anything underhanded that LeBlanc may do out of her fear of not being able to control Riven. Irelia chose to inform Karma first to ask her advice for how to inform the rest of the Elders. As expected they didn't take the change in their relationship well, not wanting Irelia to go through with her promise to marry Riven, seeing Riven as a threat to Ionia even though they were on the verge of signing a proper peace treaty between Noxus and Ionia, they still couldn't trust Noxians after what had happened with Swain. Irelia kept her promise to refuse to give into their pleas, deciding that marrying Riven meant far more to her than pleasing the Elders of Ionia. When Riven heard of Irelia's choice to stand up to the Elders, it made her feel glad briefly that things had happened how they had happened, even being glad that she had been betrayed by Noxus, it meant that she got to marry Irelia.

A/N: Alright, so that's the end of this Riven/Irelia fic and it's probably going to be the last Riven fic that I'll be writing for a while, I've written far too many so far and I'm working on a Diana/Leona one now, that'll be posted shortly Hope you enjoyed reading this , don't be afraid to leave a review or pm me what you think. Thanks for reading


End file.
